Modern, multiple story buildings may be formed with an external wall structure that is secured to a floor slab. The external wall structure, or curtain wall, is secured to the slab, which is made of concrete, and the curtain wall is at a distance spaced away from the slab. By creating a gap between the slab and the curtain wall, proper alignment of the curtain wall is ensured. For example, in the event that the slab for a particular floor is not entirely straight or the slabs of adjacent floors are not properly aligned, the size of the gap between the curtain wall and a slab may be adjusted at various points along the slab to align the curtain wall so that it is substantially straight along the entire length and/or height of the building.
While the gap created between the curtain wall and the slabs of a building may be necessary to allow for proper alignment of the curtain wall, in the event of a fire, smoke, hot gasses, and/or flames, any of these conditions could pass from one floor to another through the gap between the curtain wall and the slabs. In order to prevent smoke, hot gasses, and/or fire from passing freely through this gap, safing insulation may be positioned between the slabs and spandrels of the curtain wall. Specifically, the spandrel areas of the curtain wall may be backed by a layer of spandrel insulation and the safing may be positioned between the spandrel insulation and the slabs in order to fill the gap between the spandrels and the slabs.
While systems of installing the spandrel insulation are known, such systems are often labor intensive, requiring screws, other additional fasteners, and/or are dangerous, requiring sharp pins or impaling spikes. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,886,491 to Shriver discloses an “Impasse” system used in today's curtain wall system using insulation hangers, which are steel base clips with a 12 GA steel pin swaged to the center. Such system requires screws to attach hangers and the insulation to be impaled onto the sharpened end, which is not always so easy to do in the field and may actually pose a safety risk to workers.
Still, most other systems require multiple screws and attachment points to be anywhere from 8 to 12 inches O.C. As the cost for installing each screw may be as high as $1.00 for the extra time and material it takes, the cost for installing these systems may add up quickly. Further, sometimes mullions also serve to allow for drainage, so driving screws in can create points that could later leak. Other times, mullions may incorporate some steel into the aluminum for strength, and pilot holes need to be drilled in there. Thus, it is desirable to reduce or eliminate screws in the installation of curtain wall insulation system.
This disclosure describes systems that address at least some of the technical issues discussed above, and/or other issues.